Guilty
by Shirekat
Summary: An alternate look at Romilda's attempted seduction-by-potion of Harry Potter.


A/N: Written for round 1 of the finals for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. I'm Chaser 2 for the Caerphilly Catapults.

I had to write about the First Love Beguiling Bubbles Love Potion made by Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, using these prompts:

5\. (song) 'Careless Whisper' by George Michael  
9\. (dialogue) "I want to lick his face."  
12\. (restriction) no using the word 'what'

* * *

" _Baubles,"_ said Demelza to the Fat Lady, who trilled an off-key Christmas tune as her portrait swung open. Demelza clambered through the portrait hole, dragging a schoolbag that felt like it held half the library behind her. She'd thought it was fifth year that the teachers really laid on the hard work, but apparently McGonagall, Flitwick, and Slughorn felt differently, even if it was only two days until the Christmas holidays.

She staggered weakly into the Gryffindor common room and collapsed in a heap in front of two of the squashy armchairs by the fire and let out an exhausted groan.

 _Three more days_ , she told herself. Just three more days, and she would be on the floor in her mother's house, listening to her favorite albums on her father's old record player, (the only artifacts from the Muggle world that Demelza's mother had held onto after her father had died when she was a baby). Three more days until she had her quality time with George Michael. Demelza sighed again.

"That bad, huh?"

Ginny Weasley leaned forward in her chair, peering down at Demelza and looking amused.

"Listen, you can complain all you want about O.W.L. year," Demelza told her, flopping onto her back and pushing her black curls back from her face, "but half my professors gave me more work this week than I've had the whole term."

"Poor baby," Ginny said, reaching down and patting her head teasingly. She looked at her watch. "The library's closed already?"

"No, there were still a few people down there," Demelza yawned, stretching her arms over her head. "Why? You're waiting for someone?"

"No," Ginny replied.

Demelza lifted her head and looked at the empty chair beside Ginny's. "Where's Dean?"

"He's…with Seamus," Ginny said, looking down at her homework with careful concentration.

"Did you have another fight?" Demelza asked incredulously.

"Not so loud," Ginny implored her.

"Listen, the two of you are never going to be able to enjoy Slughorn's party if you don't make up," Demelza told her, sitting up. Then she grinned and sang, _"_ _Guilty feet have got no rhythm_ _—t_ _hough it's easy to pretend_ _…I_ _know you're not a fool—"_

"Are you mocking me?" Ginny asked, pretending to be scandalized. "Are you mocking me with your terrible Muggle pop music?" she giggled, nudging Demelza with her foot.

"Only a little. And one day you'll listen to George Michael too," Demelza replied. With a great sigh, she heaved herself up and flopped into the chair next to Ginny. "So are you just…sitting out here, if you're not hanging around with Dean?"

Ginny gave her a look. "I'm not allowed to be out and about without him?"

"I didn't say that," Demelza said, rolling her eyes, "and you know it. Don't pick a fight."

Ginny sighed. "Romilda's in the dormitories with about half the girls in the House," she said, looking irritable. "They're trying out the Love Potions my brothers have been smuggling people. Idiots." She crossed something out viciously on the essay she was working on.

"Oh, yeah," Demelza said, amused. "Romilda wants to use those Beguiling Bubbles on Harry. I heard her telling Janet—"

"She wants to use them on _Harry?_ " Ginny demanded, as a few students across the common room looked up in alarm. "Is she stupid?"

"Yes," Demelza replied, after a moment's thought, and then she giggled. "But Harry's not, Ginny, you know that. Why are you so worried?"

Ginny hesitated. "I—I'm not," she said slowly, her shoulders relaxing visibly. "I just—without Katie, we're already a player short, and if she gives him the wrong dosage—"

"She'd never hurt her precious _Harry darling_ ," Demelza mimicked with a derisive snort. "You wouldn't believe the way she goes on about him in the dormitory— _I want him to touch me_ — _I want to snog him until our brains fall out_ — _I want to lick his face_ —"

"That's….lovely," Ginny replied slowly, her nose wrinkled unpleasantly.

"Well," Demelza shrugged, "I may not have it exactly right."

Ginny gave another laugh, but it was rather halfhearted, and Demelza had the impression that she was deeply uncomfortable with the conversation. She decided it would be rude to push the matter, and so leaned forward in her chair and scooped up a few of her fallen books into her schoolbag.

"Gin, I'm really tired, so I'm going to head to bed, all right? Let me know if you need anything, okay?" Demelza rose and put a hand on Ginny's shoulder, and Ginny looked up.

"Thanks, Melz," she replied, smiling faintly. "I'm sure we'll work it out."

"'Course you will," Demelza assured her with a smile. Ginny tried to return it, but became almost immediately lost in thought again. Demelza shook her head; maybe O.W.L. year really did undo your hinges, but she had the feeling that something else was bothering Ginny—she just wished she knew more about it.

Sighing, Demelza let herself into the dormitory labeled "FOURTH YEARS" and went inside. Suddenly, she was assaulted by a heady cloud of perfume that smelled as though every girl in the dormitory had pooled their resources to make the potion that was now stewing in the collapsible cauldron set up at the end of Romilda Vane's bed.

Demelza rolled her eyes as a few heart-shaped, crystalline bubbles rose from the potion's surface and burst with soft, musical tinkles.

"Got a problem, Robins?" Romilda asked lazily, from where she lay on her bed. She had a box of Chocolate Cauldrons laid out next to the potion, and Demelza suspected that this was how she was going to slip Harry the potion.

"'Course not," Demelza replied, hoping very much that Harry _wouldn't_ be an idiot and actually eat these things. He was a good Quidditch Captain, but she'd noticed that he didn't always pay attention to the things happening around him—how else had he not noticed that Ginny had a massive crush on him?

Demelza picked up her bath towel and soap kit, fully aware that Romilda was watching her closely. "Best hurry up if you want to catch him, Romilda, the library'll be closing any minute," Demelza told her as she retreated to the girls' bathroom to shower.

There was a satisfying yelp and a thud as Romilda checked the time, saw she was right, and toppled off the bed in her hurry. Demelza snorted and headed off for the bathroom, humming to herself.


End file.
